LINEBACKER MAKES GAME-SAVING PLAY AT AIRPORT
The NFL season doesn’t start for another month-and-a-half, but Chicago Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman has already made his biggest play of the year.
Freeman was having a bite to eat at an airport restaurant in Austin, Texas, before getting on a flight back to Chicago when he noticed a man choking on brisket.
A woman tried to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the man but wasn’t strong enough, so the 236-pound NFL player – who learned the Heimlich from his mother, who is a nurse – jumped into the play and wrapped his enormous arms around the man.
One squeeze, and the man started throwing up. A second tight squeeze and the his air passage was completely opened up. The very relieved man thanked Freeman for saving his life.
It was the first time Freeman had ever performed the Heimlich on another person. He said, “I was trying to save all my energy for training camp. And here I had to go rush up on this guy like I’m about ready to make a tackle. Whatever it takes.” (USA Today)